11.3 Structuring the development organization for high efficiency

Organizing people is mandatory and supports the enforcement of accountability, without which success is impossible. The organizational form adopted by your company can affect productivity. In its most basic form, there is a technical leader responsible for driving the project forward; several followers then take direction, which is usually derived from their consensus anyway.

In the world of cutting-edge technology, the followers possess just as much power in governing project direction as does the project manager, if not more. Chapter 5 described the technical complexity that can be expected when developing systems consisting of new hardware and software. The clich that knowledge is power is very true, especially when assembling a team of technical experts who are responsible for drawing upon their unique experience in creating, designing, implementing, and debugging a specific aspect of technology.

The core group, as presented in Figure 3.3, can be used effectively in organizing technical resources, the forum being facilitated by the project manager. In addressing the needs of the company, however, a hierarchical structure is instated. Issues of managing human resources can be quickly understood and dealt with by a different organizational structure. It is far easier to understand the ramifications arising as a result of a complaint of sexual harassment than it is to fully appreciate the implications of implementing a finite impulse response (FIR) filter over an infinite impulse response (IIR) filter in a communications system.

Combining both systems of organization is preferable in facilitating development efficiency and addressing...